The Picture
by StarryTwlight
Summary: One picture was all he had when she had to leave again, all he could do was stare at it. She had to leave but she wants to go back. A new mission to better protect the world, could this be the started they needed? VERY minor language. IchiRuki


Hey! I'm back. I was surprised, how many people loved my last one shot. So here is another. Its playing off my mood right now so sorry if its weird. Be prepared for lots of OC-ness going on in this one. And its going to switch pov a lot....maybe. Enjoy!

-ST

---*---*---

It was one little picture.

One little picture that changed everything about them.

It was suppose to be a one time deal, do it and forget about it.

So why can't he stop starring at it now? Why couldn't he get her out of his head? Why did it matter?

---*---*---

She had begged and pleaded with him. Something for her "research". That excuse worked every time. With out fail! She could get him to do anything with her for the sake of her research of the Human world.

Its only a picture.

She just couldn't part with it and leave it in the human world like she planned to.

It was just to annoy him! But why does it mean so much to her?

---*---*---

"Kurosaki-kun!" a bubbly voice called.

The orange haired teen didn't even bother to look, he sat in his seat at school and continued to stare out the window. He grunted a reply but left it at that. His days where boring when she wasn't around. All the pointless arguments. He missed those a lot. But he missed her always fighting with him.

"Ichigo" A deep voice called.

This pulled the teen's attention, to his normally silent friend.

"Yeah Chad?" He said unusually quitely.

"She will come back."

"Who said I wanted the midget to come back to begin with?" He said getting flustered that he was caught red handed.

"Okay." Chad responded.

"I don't get it!" Ichigo responded.

The last bell of the day rings and Ichigo and Chad stay seated for a while till every one leaves the room. Ichigo looks at his friend and grabs his stuff. They leave the room and walk off the school grounds.

"It was just a picture, it shouldn't mean anything. But I find my self staring at it more than I should. I'm actually missing." Ichigo paused, he didn't want to admit it to any one that he missed her.

"Its okay." Chad said.

"I miss Rukia damnit." Ichigo grumbled.

---*---*---

"Rukia-chan!" A very busty woman calls. Sake bottle in hand.

"Rangaku-san." a young woman answers to her busty friend.

"Are you looking at that picture again? I don't get why you let such a catch swim off like that Rukia-chan!" Rangaku whines. "Oh well. Hey drink with me."

"We are on duty Rangaku-san, we can't do that." Rukia shakes her head at her friend.

"Oh come on our captains are out for a minute we can let lose!" Rangaku takes a swig from her sake bottle.

"Rangaku-san!" A shocked voice joins the group.

"Momo-chan!" Rukia calls out.

"Kuchiki-san. What a pleasant surprise. I didn't know Rangaku was with you." Momo says.

"She was just leaving." Rukia says as she tries to get Rangaku up to a standing position.

"But Rukia-chan! We haven't even started to drink yet!" Rangaku whined again.

"And we won't." Rukia says handing the friend over to Momo. "Good luck."

Momo smiles knowingly and drags their friend away to her quarters to try and sober her up some.

After Rukia knows her friends are gone she pulls her picture out and looks longingly upon it.

"I don't understand this at all. Why can't I stop missing you?" Rukia asks her picture.

---*---*---

"The human world needs better protection so we are gathering four members of every squad to send all over the earth. You will all pick four people and give them their orders. Each Squad will have its own area to look after. I will start from the lowest number to the highest number.

Squad thirteen, you will be stationed in Japan. Squad twelve you will be in China and Russia. Squad eleven you will be stationed in Europe as will squad ten. Squads nine through seven will be stationed in east America middle and west. Squad six will be in Australia, Squad five will be in northern Africa, Squad four will be in southern Africa and squads four will have different orders, one person is to go with each group that heads out to be there for major medical emergencies. Squads three and two will be in northern and southern South America and Squad one will be in Canada.

You are dismissed, be prepared to send groups out tomorrow afternoon!" an old man called from the front of a group of captains. He tapped his cane on the ground once to signal the true end of the meeting.

Slowly captains filed out of the room and to their respective divisions.

"Jûshirô!" a joyful voice called to the long white haired captain.

"Ah! Shûnshi! Isn't this exciting news! We are taking a better stance in protecting the living world!" he replied to the friendly captain.

"That will make little Rukia-chan happy too."

"You know me so well Shûnshi. I plan to send her and Kiyone and a couple of other seated members."

"You're doing a good thing Jûshirô. We all have noticed how Rukia has been acting since she got back from her most resent trip to the living world."

"She misses the Ichigo Kurosaki boy."

"Maybe Kuchiki-taicho will lighten up a bit now." Shûnshi laughs out.

"Haha. Maybe" Jûshirô smiles.

The two captains stopped at a cross road and then headed in the direction of their respective divisions. Both in good spirits about the events that will happen.

When Jûshirô gets to his squad he hears Kiyone and Sentarô going at it with poor Rukia sitting in the middle of them as they where screaming at each other trying to figure out why Rukia was so out of it.

"Your wrong Sentarô! Your always wrong! Rukia misses her friends in the living world!" Kiyone yells.

"She misses that human boy!" Sentarô screams back.

"Ah. Hello, I'm back." Jûshirô says drawing the attention to him self.

"Ukitake-taicho! Welcome back!" Kiyone and Sentarô both loudly greet their taicho.

"Kiyone and Rukia I have a special mission for you and two others, I'll leave it up to you to decide who will go with you." Jûshirô says quietly as a coughing fit attacks him.

"Ukitake-taicho! Your unwell, let me help you to your room." Rukia says before either of the loudmouths can say a thing.

"Thank you Rukia-chan." Jûshirô waits a bit till they are out of ear's reach of the other two. "I've seen the face you make when you think about the living world. Which is why I've chosen you and Kiyone. She is still innocent, and Sentarô is not a good influence on her. She needs some one like you to look up to. You'll be stationed in Japan. And I can only hope you'll position your self in Kakura town."

"Ukitake-taicho," Rukia says quietly as she helps her captain sit in a chair.

"Now, I don't want to you to fight with me on this one. I want you to be happy. I miss your smile and you smile every time you think of the living world. And if that is were your happiness is then that's where you belong." Jûshirô looked up to meet Rukia's eyes. They where shining from unspilled tears he knew her Kuchiki side wouldn't dare let fall.

"Thank you so much Ukitake-taicho." Rukia grins at her captain. "Thank you." She hugs her captain and goes to get ready for her trip for her very long trip.

---*---*---

"Kurosaki?" a teacher calls.

"Here"

"Kuchiki?"

"Here!" A falsely cheerful voice calls back.

Ichigo's eyes widen. He couldn't have heard that right. He slowly turns his head from its current position to look at the blank desk beside him. Or at least he thought it was blank.

But before his eyes, sat the girl who had been tormenting his dreams since she last left. The very same girl that he had fought countless hollows and ancarrs with. The same girl that he saved from a most certain death.

"Rukia?" Ichigo heard him self say.

"Oh! Hello Ichigo!" Rukia responded in a whisperly cheerful voice. One that didn't sound fake at all. She smiled at him, a real smile.

Ichigo felt him self blush. 'Damnit' he thought. There she was and all he could do was stare at her like he was dreaming. She was there, sitting next to him, in class.

"Kurosaki! Do you and Miss Kuchiki need a minute in the hall way or are you going to suffocate us with your love for her?" The teacher yells at him.

"What?! No! I'm not in love with her!" Ichigo yells back getting out of his stupor.

"Coulda fooled us." The teacher says as she continues with her lesson.

Rukia passes him a note.

"We will talk later -Rukia" it had her classic drawings all over it and Ichigo couldn't help but smile even if they where horrible drawings he still liked them.

The day seemed to drag by for the two of them as they ate lunch in their respective places with their friends and went back to class. Ichigo kept stealing glances at Rukia, hoping she wouldn't be gone when he looked, and hoping this wasn't a horrible dream again.

The last bell rings and he is the first one up and he grabs Rukia's hand getting out of the class as quick as possible. They walk in silence for a while till they are pretty far from the school.

"Ichigo." Rukia calls to the boy in front of her.

His pace slows and he grips her hand tighter before letting go of it.

"Ichigo I have new orders." Rukia says the excitement clear in her voice.

"Oh?" Ichigo says, her excitement becoming contagious.

She smiled and nodded her head.

"Well don't leave me hanging what are they? Can I help?" Ichigo says impatiently.

"I'm stationed here, till further notice. The Soul Society is becoming more active in the protection of innocent souls!"

"Really?" Ichigo asks in a unbelieving tone.

"Yup!" Rukia says her smile growing bigger.

With out even thinking Ichigo grabs up Rukia and hugs her and spins her around. "I'm so happy." he says barely above a whisper.

Once he realizes what he did he puts Rukia down and looks the other way to hide his blush. They just stand there for a minute Rukia in the same state as Ichigo, red as a tomato.

"Ichigo?" Rukia's quiet voice asks.

"Yeah?"

"I missed you most of all." She says her face flushing again.

Ichigo looked at Rukia with a smile on his face. She looked at him and it was clear that she was shocked he was smiling. He grabbed her hand again and dragged her off in the opposite direction of his house to a secluded garden area.

"Rukia?" Ichigo says when they've wandered pretty far into the garden and he is sure no one will see them.

"Yes?"

"I missed you too." He says pulling her into a hug. "More than you'll ever know."

"You idiot." Rukia says into his chest smiling.

He pulls back and reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. "I kept that picture."

"But why? You didn't even want to take it." Rukia asked really confused as to where this conversation was going all the sudden.

"I couldn't get it out of my mind. You left that night with a note on the back of this picture." Ichigo admits.

"I had to I had orders."

"All that matters is that your back now." Ichigo said as he put the picture back in the wallet. "I want a new picture."

"Of what?"

"Of us." Ichigo says as he pulls out a camera that he conveniently had in his bag.

Ichigo turns on the camera and points it at him self and Rukia.

"On the count of three okay?" He asks.

"Okay."

"One."

"Two."

"Three." Ichigo turns to Rukia and kisses her on the cheek as he takes the picture.

"Rukia. I'm pretty sure I fell in love with you, when we took that picture." He says in her ear.


End file.
